Martha Clark Scala
ABOUT MARTHA: writer visual artist
I lose track of time when I make collages, take photographs, and assemble short videos. Constitutionally built to be active, I get cranky if I have to spend too many hours sitting at a computer. Creating visual art provides a perfect counterbalance to writing and editing.
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Photography
As a youngster, I took pictures of people, pets, and vacation spots with my beloved Kodak Instamatic. I used some photos to make gifts for my family. My sister saved one of the first calendars I made when I was twelve years old.
Several decades and cameras later, I capture the beauty I find in everyday scenes near home or in other favorite places. Walks with my camera in hand help me summon joy no matter where I am.
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Collage
I am a scissors-and-glue collage artist. I prefer to minimize use of computer applications that manipulate or combine images electronically. I like getting my hands dirty with this art form.
I rarely complete a collage by sitting in one place for a few hours. I can leaf through magazines and cut things out standing up if I want. Sometimes, it is a struggle to find the right combination of words and images. I have had my fair share of flops, too. But sometimes things gel; happenstance is often in the mix. That is when my joy quotient rises.
Video
It takes a lot of computer time to produce short videos. The payoff comes when I find the right combination of images, words, and sound to create a comprehensive whole. In that compelling groove, there is no clock-watching and the hours pass by too fast.
There are other payoffs, too:
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Memorial videos for both my brother and sister helped me digest my grief. By combining sad or sick images with those that were more joyful for our family, a re-balancing of reminiscences occurred.
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A commissioned video for a young woman’s graduation gift provided an intimate window into how much we evolve in the first twenty-one years of our life.
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A reading of Louise Erdrich’s fabulous poem, Advice to Myself, with accompanying photos and music, got me to take the poet’s awesome advice to heart.
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The first draft of an unfinished movie about a very special dog, Bandit, helped me summon great compassion for the losses I have weathered thus far. Hopefully, I’ll get that movie finished one day…if I can tolerate sitting at the computer long enough!
More of Martha’s Visual Art âž
